According to the National Institute on Aging, at least one in 10 people 65 or older has urinary incontinence (UI). According to AM News, Mar. 23, 2009, “The problem of urinary incontinence affects millions of people and can happen to anyone, but becomes more common among older people.” And, although it is most common among women in this age group, men who have prostate disease also are at increased risk factors involve a number of elements beyond age and sex. They include obesity, smoking, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure, dementia, and impaired mobilization. Constipation and urinary tract infections also can cause incontinence”. And don't forget prostrate surgery and radiation treatment. These factors translate into millions of people in the U.S. alone with UI problems. Heavy UI can cause social isolation, depression, and even suicide. A new approach the high end UI is needed.
One U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,858 presented a hardware device which was too hard, bulky, and rigid. You can also go to any drug store and find a whole array of pads and underwear that utilize the absorption principal. That is, these devices are very absorptive and will hold onto urine until they are saturated. And if one is not careful, they will wet one's clothing and then the chair or couch one is sitting on. Some times this is sooner than later. An internal catheter involves inserting a tube into one's penis to drain urine from the bladder. In this case, the device was called and external catheter. A condom which is attached to a tubing would be placed over the penis. Then a Valco™ band would wrap around the outside of the condom to secure the condom in place. The tubing would lead into a reservoir that would be strapped to one's leg just like U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,858.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,858 seems too hard, rigid and bulky. But using the idea of a drainage hose connecting to a reservoir like the external and internal catheters do is a sound one. This is as long as the leg straps connect to stationary loops and are comfortable. This is not the case for U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,858, internal or external catheters. External and internal catheters use rubber straps that are not bounded to the drainage hose. These slide down and thus are unstable, not to mention the rash they give the user. Absorption pads work somewhat well if one has a very mild incontinence. But if one's incontinence is heavier, beware of forgetting about it for a little while. Because when one feels a little wet, one may have to run to whatever restroom is hopefully near by. Your underwear will get wet very soon after that if nothing is done. Then your pants and maybe the chair or couch you are sitting on is the next victim. So one would have to be alert and have at least one spare in his (her) pocket or purse or maybe in the trunk of one's car. The same holds true for the incontinence underwear. But they hold more urine than the pads do, even though more bulky to carry around. And if one is going to change his (her) incontinence underwear and is wearing pants or slacks, then these have to come completely off before a new one can be put on. And then where does one dispose of the incontinence underwear or pad? It would be nice to have access to a plastic bag to put it into when visiting a friend's house. Or one may want to sneak it out or have an excuse to put it in his (her) car truck so no one will know he (she) is incontinent.
It would be advantageous to provide a solution to urine incontinence whereas the users would have a comfortable and efficient way to dispose of their urine without getting their garments wet. Thus knowing accurately when to drain urine for disposal would come into play. A user could feel how full the reservoir is from the outside of his garments.
It would also be advantageous to provide a way of disposing of urine without having to throw something away like absorption pads away. Imagine yourself at a gathering where you have could have had the choice of either draining urine accumulation in the toilet. Would you want to use this invention or somehow find a sanitation way of disposing a urine absorbing pad.
It would be convenient to provide a way of using the same device without changing anything all day long. And this would be cost effective